preusser



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

A. PREUSSER. MOUNTING GUNS.

No. 281,643. Patented July 17', 1888.

(No Mdel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. A. PREUSSER. MOUNTING GUNS.

No. 281,648. v Patented July 17, 1883.

N4 PETERS, Phvo-Lhhogrxphsr, Wallington. D. C

Nrrn rrares F F ICE@ GERMANY,

ASSIG'NOR T() HERMANN GRUSON, OF SAME PLACE.

MOUNTING GUNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,643, dated July 17, 1883.

Application tiled July 25, 1881. (No model.)

in Italy July 14, 1880, XXIV.110; in Austria-Hungary September 20, 1880, No. $12,412 and No. $17,257;

' VV1982, No. 53,705', and in Spain November 2, 1882,'No. 3,191.n

T0 all when?, if; may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBIN PREUssER, residing at Buckau, near Magdeburg, in the King dom ot'Prussi a, Germany, assi gnorto HERMANN GR'USON, ot' the same place, manufacturer, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Mounting of Guns to be Used with Embrasures of Minimum Size, for which invention patents have been granted to H. GRUsoN in France on June 25, 1880, and Italy July 14, 1880, as additions to i'oriner patents, and in Austria-Hungary on September 20, 1880, while an application t'or a patent to H. GRUsoN has been tiled in Germany on June 24, 1880.

The said improvements are described in the following speciiication.

My invention relates to guns to be used in armor-plate turrets or batteries, and it consists in an improved mounting which allows the gun to be projected through a port-hole or embrasure but slightly larger than its outer diameter without hindering it from being elevated or inclined and from recoiling, and in improved means for adjusting the gun to the desired angle of elevation or inclination.

The invention is represented on the annexed two sheets of drawings.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the gun ,with carriage and appertaining mechanism,

bed-frame, and part oi' turret; Fig. 2, a side view of the gun from the opposite side; Fig. 3, a plan of the same. Figs. 4c to 7 show the valve-box V in detail, Fig. 4 being a section online 1 1, and Fig. 5 a section on line 2 2 of Fig. G, which is a sectional plan on line 3 3 of Figs. i and 5, while Fig. 7 is a sectional plan on line a 4t. Figs. 8 to 12 represent a cock operating in an equivalent manner as the said valves, Fig. S being a horizontal section on line 5 5 of Fig. 10, which is a section 011 line 6 6 of Fig. 8; Fig. 9, a section of the plug of the cock at right angle to the section Fig. 8. Figs. 11 and 12 show sections of the cock corresponding to the section Fig. 10, but with different positions of plug. Fig. 13 is a part of the pipeconncction between the carriage of the gun and a hydraulic accumulator.

The gun rests with its trunnions c inv brasses or .blocks arranged to slide between the ways Patented in France July, 1878. No. 125,775; in Germany June 25, 1880, No. 14,079;

in lelginln August 14 f, attached to the carriage O, and formed according to arcs ot' circles having their center on a horizontal line which passes through the center d of the narrowest part of the embrasure, and which may be regarded as the imaginary axis whereon the gun turns. The said blocks are Carried by a cross-head, g, sev cured to thehydraulic piston S. The carriage O slides on a stationary platform, U, the upper surface, P, whereof, by preference, rises toward its rear end. For the purpose of controlling the recoil ofthe gun, a hydraulic brake is used, which is, however, not shown in the drawings, as it does not form any part of the invention.

In order to guide the gun in such a manner that when its angle oi' inclination or elevation is altered, or when it recoils, its axiswill always remain in the center ot the embrasure, a mechanism is provided for which consists, in the iirst place, of a bar, F, pivoting on a horizontal axle or fulcrum, l), arranged vertically, or nearly so, below t-he point d. XVith this bar the gun is in sliding connection by means of two claws, a' i", fixed to the latter and embracing the top of the bar, which is made of a sectional shape adapted for this purpose. The said claws may form part of the rings R and R, clamped to the body ofthe gun, as shown in the drawings, or they are iixed to the gun in other suitable manner. Moreover, instead of separate claws, a long saddle may be used having a groove fitting to the head of'the bar F, so as to allow the saddle to slide thereon. The claws r r or other guides are so attached to the gun that the axis ot' the lat-ter will be parallel to the top ol the bar. Then the angular position of the gun is altered, in vertical sense, by means of the lifting mechanism provided therefor, the gun, while sliding to a certain extent on the bar F, will turn, together with the bar, on the axle or fulcrum 1). The axis of the gun, remaining, however, at the saine distance from the top of the bar, and consequently from pin p, will remain a tangent to the arc of a circle, c c, drawn from p as center, and thus deviate in its diti'erentpositi ons from the center d of the embrasurc (through which the arc c c is drawn) so little that practically the amount may be neglected. Vhen the gun recoils its carriage slides on the surface P of thc stationary platform U, so that its trunnions a will pass along a line, a a, parallel ,to P, and finally arrive at a. The axis of the gun will consequently be shifted from the position c b to the position a b, the said axis, however, remaining, as in the first case, a tangent to the arc c c. The gun during its recoil winds itself, as it were, out of the embrasure without touching the walls thereof, while at the same time it turns on its trunnions.

I am aware that an arrangement by means of variable, the gun is elevated independently.

of the platform; it is maintained parallel to a special pivoting-bar, which is not called upon to carry any essential part of the weight of thel gun, and the angle which the axis of the gun forms with the surface P of the platform varies as the gun is moved backward or forward, provided the said axis be not accidentally parallel to the surface P.

The second part of the invention relates to` the means for adjusting the gun to the desired angle of elevation or inclination. The same consists in a hydraulic cylinder, G, in which a piston, K, moves, having attached to it the plunger S, between which and the wall of the cylinder there is a space, D. rIhe cylinder is connected at the top by the pipe L and at the bottom by the pipe L with the valve-box V, which, in its turn, communicates, by the pipes A A A2, (see Figs. l, 2, and 3,) with lan accumulator, and by the pipe N with the reservoir of the feed-pump of the latter. The accumulator and the said pump are omitted in the drawings, as they present nothing that is new. In the box V there are three valves, h, fi, andy'. (See Figs. 4, 5, and 6.) These may be opened and closed by the levers L, i, and j, fixed on the shaft 7c, which is operated by suitable intermediate gear from the handlever H. The box V, being attached to the frame of the hydraulic cylinder, which forms part of the carriage O, the pipes establishing communication between the box and the accumulator must be provided with sliding joints, as shown by Figs. 2, 3, and 13. The part A, having at either end a stuffing-box, is attached to the platform U, and from it branches off the pipe A2, leading to the accumulator.

other stuffing-box a pipe, A3, slides, which is closed at the outer end and fixed to the car- Through the stufiing-boxat one end of A passes the pipe A, whereas in the y riage, the purpose of this pipe being to balance the pressure from the accumulator on the pipe A. In order to render the discharge-pipe N fit for adapting itself to all positions of the carriage, the saine is madel partly or entirely of india-rubber. Moreover, the shaft 7c is so arranged that it may slide in the boss c, by means of which it is operated, so that it can be turned by the lever II in whichsoevcr position the carriage O may be. Of the aforesaid valves h, z', and j, the first one, h, has for its object to prevent an undue backflow of liquid from the cylinder to the accumulator, especially when the gun is fired off. 'Ihe valve 'i opens and Y cuts off communication between the space below the piston and the space D above the same, while the valve j serves to letV liquid iiow off from D through the discharge-pipe N. Vhen the levers H, h', i', and j are in the position shown in the drawings, all the valves are closed. rI`he liquid from the accumulator is, however, free to lift the valve h, and it will therefore act through L on the under side of the piston; but as no liquid can escape from D, the piston,.to gether with the gun, will be at rest. The lever H being turned in one direction, the arms 7L and 13 will simultaneously lift the valves h an d c'. The pressure of liquid from the accumulator will then act through L on the lower surface of the piston, and through L and D on its upper annular surface. Now, these surfaces have such a proportion to each other that the difference of total pressures exercised thereon by the liquid is by a certain amount less than the weight of the gun. In consequence the gun will, under these conditions, sink and force from the space below the piston K one portion ofthe liquid into the space D and the other portion back into the accumulator, the piston of the latter being thereby lifted in proportion to the quantity of liquid returned into the cylinder of the same. During this operation no liquid escapes into the discharge-pipe N, as the valve j is closed. When the lever II is turned the other way, the valves 7L and i will close, whereas the valve] is opened by the arm j. Communication is hereby established between D and the discharge-pipe N, so that the pressure in D is annulled. Liquid from the accumulator will consequently (while automatically lifting the valve l1.) flow into the space below the piston K, and now act on the under side of the latter without meeting any counter pressure of liquid. The gun, whose weight is exceeded by the pressure of the liquid under the piston, will therefore be raised. At the same time the liquid from the space D is returned to thc reservoir of the accumulator feed-pump. A It will be seen that by these means the weight of the gun is utilized for the purpose of raising the piston of the accumulator, and that only so much additional liquid has to be pumped into the same as is discharged from the space D. A material saving of power is thus attained in comparison with former arrangements, in which, for every upward movement of the piston K, the entire quantity of liquid,

IOO

IIO

IZO

:remita corresponding to the extent of such motion and the area of the piston K, had to be provided for by pumping.

As regards the cock, Figs. 8 to 12, which is an equivalent of the described valve arrangement, the pipes A, L, L', and N, attached thereto, have the same purpose as those marked by like letters in Figs. l to 7. lts plug is provided wit-h two apertures or channels, Z t, adapted to register with the port leading to the pipe A, and both communicating with the space m, constantly open to the pipe L. a is a channel adapted to register with the port to pipe L and communicating with m. The channel o, together with the holes q, finally serve to establish communication between L and the pipe N. Nhen the plug is in the position Fig. 1l, all communication between the different pipes is intercepted and the gun is at rest. Then the plug is turned according to Figs. S and 10, L communicates through m as well with L as with A. The piston K then descends and lowers the gun. 'Vv' hen finally the plug is brought into the position Figs. 9 and 12, liquid flows from L to N and from A to L, whereby the piston and the gun are raised. The same effect may, however, also be attained by a slidefalve having ports and channels corresponding to those of the described cock, and which may be arranged to be moved in a a rotative sense or a straight line, as will be evident to any person. acquainted with pieces of machinery of this kind.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with a gun supported by its trunnions in a carriage, O, movable on the platform U, which is not susceptible of vertical adjustment, of a guide-bar, F, parallel to the axis of the gun and pivoting on a l'ulcrum, p, and with which the gun is so connected that it may slide lengthwise in respect to the bar, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, with the gun and its carriage O, of a hydraulic lifting-gear, consisting of the cylinder C, piston K, with plunger S, pipes or channels L and L, pipe A, leading to an accumulator, and means, substantially as specified, which allow communication to be established between A, L, and L', er between A and L only, while L is open to a discharge-pipe, or to permit all communication between the pipes to be stopped, as hereinbefore described, and for the purpose of utilizing the weight of the gun for raising the piston of the accumulator.

'In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification in the presence ot' two subscribing witnesses.

ALBIN PREUSSER.

Vitnesses:

CARL Prnrniz, BERTI-rom) Roi'. 

